Apparatus for applying color to pile fabric



Sept. 29, 1973 sc wg z ETAL 3,530,692

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING COLOR TO FILE mama mm mm $1,, 1968 INVENTO WERNER FRIIST scuwt zn A L FRED KORSCH W4. v 44 6 ORNEY United States Patent 3,530,692 APPARATUS FOR APPLYING COLOR TO PILE FABRIC Werner E. Schweizer, Zumikon, Switzerland, and Alfred Korsch, Krefeld, Germany, assignors to Deep Dye Processes A.G., Chur, Switzerland, a Swiss company Filed Oct. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 765,343 Int. Cl. D06f /00 US. Cl. 68-202 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for applying a coloring agent to a pile fabric in which the pile fabric is passed with the pile facing downwardly between a pressure roll and a carrier such as a cylinder (or roller) having a surface with a number of receptacles formed thereon for receiving and holding the coloring agent. Said receptacles extend without interruption across the width of the carrier surface and are defined between parallel resilient ribs extending upwardly from said surface. Said ribs are part of the carrier surface or are removably secured thereto.

Said apparatus includes means for supplying the coloring agent to the receptacles on the carrier surface.

United States Pat. No. 2,984,540 issued May 16, 196 1 to Mary V. Tillett et a1. describes a method and apparatus for dyeing of pile fabrics, particularly carpets in which the fabric to be dyed is pressed downwardly against a number of receptacles on a carrier surface so that the pile enters these receptacles under pressure and hence absorbs coloring agent contained within the receptacles. In one form of the apparatus these receptacles are defined on the surface of a roller by upstanding rubber walls which form between them a large number of rectangular receptacles for a coloring agent. In practice these rubber walls are molded integrally with a sheet of material which constitutes the bottom of each receptacle and this sheet is mounted on the roller. Not only is such a sheet difficult to fabricate, but there is also the problem of securing it in position on the roller. It is preferable that the molded sheet should extend right around the roller so that there is only a single junction where the ends of the sheet butt against one another with the result that if there is damage to only a small area of the sheet it is necessary to replace the sheet as a whole which is an expensive and time consuming operation. As an alternative to a roller, an endless belt may be used to support the sheet but the overall problem is the same.

According to the present invention the receptacles for a coloring agent in an apparatus which is of basically the same type as described above extend without interruption across the width of the carrier surface and are defined between parallel resilient ribs extending from the surface. As a result of this modified construction the problems referred to above are overcome since there is no longer any need to mold a sheet with integral walls and then to secure this to the carrier surface.

If desired, the ribs may be either individual secured to the carrier surface or alternatively, they may be part of a resilient covering formed in situ. The advantage of individually secured ribs is that the initial fixing is considerably simpler than with a continuous sheet and moreover in the event of damage it is much simpler merely to replace one or more ribs than to replace the complete sheet. With this form of construction each individual rib is preferably held in position in a respective groove and if this groove is narrower at the mouth than at the base and each rib is shaped so as to fit the cross section of its groove and to broaden laterally immediately above the mouth of the groove this efiectively seals the groove so 3,530,692 Patented Sept. 29, 1970 as to prevent the entry of coloring agent therein. Other forms of fixing for individual ribs to the carrier surface are also possible, however, and the ribs may, for example, be held on the surface of a plain roller by means of fixing strips screwed to the surface of the roller and engaging flanges extending from the sides of the ribs.

If, as an alternative, the ribs are part of a resilient covering formed on the roller, this is first formed as an overall smooth covering and the spaces between the ribs are then machined away to leave separate ribs which between them define the elongated receptacles. The formation of such a resilient covering is a standard technique which can be carried out quite rapidly and with a high degree of uniformity. Consequently, if there is any damage to the ribs it is very much simpler to remove the complete covering, to form a new covering and then to machine it than it is to produce the molded sheet referred to above and to secure it in position.

The remainder of the apparatus is substantially as described in the earlier specification and includes means for supplying coloring agent to each receptacle and a pressure roller located above the carrier surface for pressing the fabric with its pile facing downwardly against the carrier surface. The area of contact between the pile fabric and the carrier surface with its receptacles defines the length of time during which the pile is able to absorb the coloring agent and this will differ with the nature of the pile; e.g., the length of the pile and so forth. To enable the apparatus to be able to treat varying types of fabric a second roller is preferably provided for guiding the fabric to the pressure roller and both this roller and the pressure roller are adjustable in relation to one another so as to vary the arc of contact referred to above.

Constructions in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the apparatus as a whole;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view to an enlarged scale of part of the surface of a roller shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing an alternative construction.

Turning first to FIG. 1, the apparatus comprises a rotary roller or drum 1, the outer surface of which is provided with a series of parallel ribs 2 extending along the length of the drum and defining between them receptacles in the form of elongated troughs 3 for coloring agent. The coloring agent is supplied by way of a pipe 4 and the flow is controlled by a valve 5 or the like. The position of the end of the pipe is adjustable in a circumferential direction relative to the drum in the direction of the arrows 6 so as to vary the quantity of coloring agent fed to and retained in each trough 3. When the pipe is moved upwardly and to the left as seen in FIG. 1, the tendency is for the troughs to be completely filled while the further it is moved downwardly and to the right the less coloring agent is retained by each trough, the remainder overflowing into a collection tank 7. The coloring agent collects in a sump 8 fitted with electrodes 9 and 10 which between them control a circulating pump 11. As soon as the level of liquid in the sump rises to the end of the electrode 10 and the pump is started and when it falls again to the level of the end of the electrode 9 the pump is stopped.

The coloring agent is supplied from a storage tank 15 and flows under gravity through a pipe 16 to the pipe 4. As illustrated, the function of the pump 11 is to pump coloring agent upwardly from tank 7 through a pipe 17 to augment the coloring agent supplied to the pipe 4. Alternatively the pump may supply a pipe 18, shown in dotted lines, by which the coloring agent is returned to the tank 15 from the overflow tank. When changing from 3 one coloring agent to another, it is, of course, necessary to clean the drum 1 and the various pipes and so forth. In order to clean the drum, spraying devices (not shown in the drawings) may be included within the tank 7.

The pile fabric 20 with the pile facing downwardly is pressed against the surface of the drum 1 by a pressure roller 21 to which it is led by a guide roller 22. In the full line position shown in the drawings, the rollers 21 and 22 are close together and there is only a short are of contact between the surface of the drum 1 and the fabric 20. The rollers are adjustable towards and away from one another and the extreme positions are shown in dotted lines as 21 and 22' while the fabric is shown as 20'. It will be seen that with this arrangement the arc of contact is very much longer and in practice the arc of contact is adjusted in accordance with the nature and length of the pile and the nature of the coloring agent.

The construction of the ribs 2 which constitutes the main subject matter of this invention is shown in more detail in FIGS. 2 and 3. In FIG. 2, the ribs 2 are part of a covering 25 which extends continuously around the drum 1. During initial manufacture a continuous covering is formed in situ on the drum in accordance with Well known methods and as initially formed this has a smooth outer surface indicated at 26. Subsequently the spaces between the ribs 2 are machined away to leave the troughs 3. As shown in FIG. 2, the amount of material removed is indicated between the outer surface 26 and the ribs 21 which are to be formed as shown in dot and dash lines. Since there are no seams or other form of break in this covering, there is no risk of it becoming detached from the drum 1. In the event of damage to one or more of the ribs the complete covering is removed, a new covering is formed on the drum and is then machined as just described.

In the modified construction of FIG. 3, the ribs 2 are formed as individual members secured directly to the surface of the drum 1. Each rib is held in position in a respective groove 27 which is narrower at its mouth than at its base so that the ribs need to be slid into position from one end after which no other fixing is necessary. Each rib is shaped so that it broadens laterally immediately above the mouth of the groove as shown at 28, thus sealing the mouth of the groove and preventing the entry of coloring agent. In the event of damage it is a simple matter to remove one or more damaged ribs and to replace them with new ribs. Alternatively, a complete set of ribs can be replaced by ribs of a different height to allow for different depth of pile of the fabric to be dyed. The ribs may, for example, be made of rubber and may be formed from lengths of extrusion.

With either of the two constructions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, end walls (not shown) for the troughs 3 may be employed if desired. This will depend on the nature and viscosity of the coloring agent and particularly if this is in the form of a fairly viscous dye paste, no such end walls may be necessary. Both of these constructions overcome disadvantages of previous apparatus to the extent that complicated molding of a sheet with integral receptacle forming partitions is avoided and that such a molded sheet does not have to be secured to the drum with all its attendant difficulties. The formation of a continuous covering in accordance with FIG. 2 is a standard technique which can be carried out very rapidly and the individual fitting of the ribs according to FIG. 3 is also extremely simple.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the embodiments of the invention which have been illustrated and described herein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims:

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for the application of color to pile fabric comprising a carrier having a surface mounted for movement in a closed path and having a number of receptacles extending without interruption across the width of said surface, said receptacles being defined between parallel resilient ribs extending upwardly from said surface, means for supplying a coloring agent to each receptacle; and a pressure roller, located above the carrier surface, for pressing the fabric, with its pile facing downwardly, against the carrier surface.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the carrier surface is the surface of a roller.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the ribs are individually secured to the carrier surface.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the ribs are individually secured to the surface of the roller.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, in which the carrier surface has grooves formed therein and the individual ribs are held in position in said grooves.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5, in which each of the grooves has a mouth and a base and is narrower at the mouth than at the base thereof, and each of said ribs is shaped to fit the cross-section of its respective groove and is broader laterally than the mouth of the groove at a point immediately above the mouth of the groove.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the ribs are part of a resilient covering formed in situ on the carrier.

8. Apparatus according to claim 2 which includes a second roller for guiding the fabric to the pressure roller, the pressure roller and the second roller being adjustable in relation to one another so as to vary the arc of contact between the fabric and the carrier surface.

WILLIAM 1. PRICE, Primary Examiner 

